Massacoe State Forest - Great Pond Block

If you're looking for a peaceful walk surrounded by beauty, this is it. No hiking equipment is necessary to enjoy the lush environs at Great Pond. I love the hush of entering the forest on a path carpeted with pine needles, and after the barrenness of winter, the new growth surrounding us was a welcome sight.

Giant white pines tower over the younger trees that fringe this trail.

This pathway lined with rhododendrons promises to be stunning when in bloom, and the mountain laurel was abundant.

We took a right turn to walk by the pond, then headed south and did two loops through the woods, returning us to the pond.

A popular site for bird watchers. In the summer, blooming water lilies will be plentiful.

At this point we needed to make a decision. We could take the trail south, cross the street and explore Wagner Woods, but rain was in the forecast. I don't mind getting wet when it's 80 degrees, but wet weather in the 40s is a different story. As we were discussing our options, one little drop of rain landed on my forehead, and we decided to head back to our cars and have our devotional time.

Isaiah 55:9

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 

When hiking at a high altitude, I glanced down and noticed the small speck of a car moving down a pencil-thin highway. But the highway was blocked at a bend in the road by a fallen tree. They couldn’t see it, but I could. I could have helped them find a detour around the trouble if only they would look up and follow my directions. 

This birds-eye view of our lives is exactly the view God has. He can see the whole of our lives, knows where we are in our journey, and He knows precisely where we need to go. We can’t see where our trails and trials will ultimately lead, nor can we see all the dangers that await us or the detours that will help us skirt those dangers. All we can do is keep our eyes and hearts on God, and wait for His guidance.

It’s comforting to know that God sees the whole of my life. His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than our thoughts. If we will trust in Him we can rejoice, even in the darkest hour, knowing that He has a plan and a purpose for our lives. (Adapted from "With God on the Hiking Trail" by Nathan Chapman.)

At the closing of the devotional, the raindrops started splotching here and there, and on the drive home the rain was falling. I was glad I heeded that one little drop of warning, and it made me smile to think of how it interlaced with our devotional. Sometimes we're tempted to ignore the signs warning us that we're on the wrong path. We want to barge ahead with our own plans without spending time in prayer and heeding wise counsel. Life doesn't always go as we planned, but we can trust God with the assurance that His ways are higher than ours, that He has a plan and a purpose and, as Romans 8:28 tells us, all things work together for good to them that love God.

Our route can be viewed in detail at: https://runkeeper.com/user/ValleyHikers/activity/753643453?tripIdBase36=cgp70d&activityList=false&

Address: Great Pond Road, Simsbury (east of Linda Lane on the north side of the road)

Trail map: http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/stateparks/maps/massacoe.pdf

Length: 2.75 miles

Duration: 1 hour, 12 minutes

Calories burned: 243

Difficulty level: easy

Godard Preserve & Mary Edwards Mountain

Not only was Alice Godard generous enough to donate 107 acres of land to the Granby Land Trust, she also created an endowment for the construction and maintenance of trails. In addition, her daughter Barbara donated a five-acre parcel. Mary Edwards donated 250 acres of her land and was a major supporter of the GLT. We were privileged to reap the benefits of their generosity on this beautiful day.

The well-marked blue-blazed trail took us downhill to a stream, and we commented on how calming it is to hear the gentle rush of the water spilling over the rocks.

The trail took us by the water for a little while and then veered east. 

We turned left taking the yellow trail around and then back onto blue, crossing the stream on the south side, bringing us back to blue and uphill to our starting point. We'd been out about an hour and had walked a little over a mile and a half.











We then crossed Donahue Road and entered the trail to the Mary Edwards Mountain property. This is an uphill climb (but not steep) for about four-tenths of a mile. It took us a little less than 20 minutes to reach Mary's Rock, where the endless view includes Springfield, Mass and the Mount Tom range. This view can easily be reached by parking on the side of the road in the pullout provided on Mountain Road, just west of Silkey Road.

We paused there for for our devotional:

Proverbs 3:6 "In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight." 

Most great hikes of history take the same route - a big circle. When people travel to Nepal to climb Everest, they leave from the same airport at which they arrived three months earlier. So why go to all the trouble? How about a sunset glow at 6000 feet? The beauty of the glow of the horizon is doubled as you remember each step taken to reach the scene.  Hiking involves circles, and so does life. Solomon commented on this when he wrote, "All of it is meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 2:17). While the circle itself may be meaningless, the effect the journey has an us. is not. 

But what about our spiritual journey? As we press forward in our spiritual walk, we have a destination. Heaven is our home. Rather than circular, this path is straight and narrow. We have a direct path to eternity. Everything is circles in our earthly lives except our spiritual journey, which leads us to our eternal destination. Let's trust in Him on our lives' straight and narrow paths.- adapted from "With God on the Hiking Trial"by Nathan Chapman.

I had underestimated the length of time it would take us to reach this point. Since I promised the hike would be under two hours, we decided to take a shortcut and go counter clockwise on the yellow trail, which took us by (and under) some interesting trees.

Someday we will have to return and explore the rest of the trails. Preferably in the fall, when I imagine the view will be breathtaking.

Our Route - view map and stats in detail: https://runkeeper.com/user/ValleyHikers/activity/748854777?tripIdBase36=cduk1l&activityList=false&
(requires runkeeper account)

Address: Donahue Road, Granby ( about a half mile down on the east side - there is a sign, and parking is available on the side of the road)

Trail Maps: http://www.granbylandtrust.org/godard_map.pdf

http://www.granbylandtrust.org/Trail%20Guide%20Sign-4.pdf

Length: 2.8 miles

Duration: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Calories burned: 444

Difficulty level: easy to moderate

Climbs:

Northwest Park

Soon after my morning coffee I received a text, “Good morning Sue, too cold for me today, sorry. Have a good time." And then a second cancellation through a phone call, “It’s frigid - the wind chill is 15!” I began to have my doubts, and the sofa and a second cup of coffee started to sound tempting. I texted Linda J - do you think it’s too cold? Her response was, “We know how to dress.” So I reluctantly layered up and got in my car, figuring my previously planned route of four miles might be cut short due to shivering.

Four of us were ready to explore Northwest Park in Windsor, and it turned out to be a lovely day and a lovely place.  We stopped in the Nature Center to visit the clean, up-to-date restrooms. There are many trails at the park - 12 miles worth. I showed two employees the route I had mapped out, and they suggested we add a side trip to the beaver pond. So instead of cutting it short, our four-mile route became almost five miles! We did a little bit of wandering, as we weren’t quite sure we were going in the right direction, turned around, and then had to backtrack. No beavers were out and about, but we did see evidence of their presence, and it was a pretty trail.

When then headed north on the yellow-blazed trail which meandered by the Farmington River. It was at this point that two of us were peeling our jackets because we were getting too warm. The sun was shining, the wind had died down, and although it was hovering around 30 degrees, the weather felt balmy.

One of our members, Cheryl J, had just returned from a medical missionary trip to Jordan, and we were privileged to hear about her experiences while ministering to Syrian refugees as we continued onto the pink-blazed Rainbow Reservoir trail.

After enjoying a nice view of the reservoir, we made our way back via the Open Forest, Softwood Forest, and Wetland Forest Trails which brought us back to the Nature Center. 

Upon our return, the park was bustling with activity, and the sweet scent of wood smoke and maple syrup was in the air. Children were enjoying the playground and the animal barn with it’s donkey, rabbits, sheep, and turkeys.

We made a brief stop in the maple sugar house where the process of sugaring was being explained and the sap boiled nearby.

The facilities are well maintained and offer a wide variety of activities - everything from pancake breakfasts to concerts to outdoor camps. Be sure to visit northwestpark.org for a list of events. We were very impressed!

Our route.  View map and stats in detail at
https://runkeeper.com/user/ValleyHikers/activity/744906489?tripIdBase36=cbhxix&activityList=false&
(requires free runkeeper account)

Address: 145 Lang Road, Windsor

Trail Map: http://www.northwestpark.org/pdf/New_NWP_Map.pdf

Length: 4.8 miles

Duration: 2 hours, 37 minutes

Calories burned: 652

Difficulty level: moderate

Climbs: